Missouri ballot measure to legalize marijuana burns out

COLUMBIA, MO (AP) - A leader of the Missouri legal marijuana movement says his group won't collect enough voter signatures to qualify for the November statewide ballot.

A group called Show-Me Cannabis needed to collect roughly 144,000 signatures by early May to get its proposals on the ballot. The group's chairman, Columbia attorney Dan Viets, said Friday the group has collected only about one-third of that number.

One proposal would amend the Missouri Constitution to legalize cannabis for people 21 and older, let doctors recommend use of medicinal marijuana and release prison inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses related to the drug. It would also let the Legislature enact a marijuana tax of up to $100 per pound.

A similar proposal would enact a state law instead of amending the Missouri Constitution.

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